Search
Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in

Too much GPU? Mid/high range gaming PC

Last response: in Graphics & Displays
Share

Wow.. my eyes can only cross so many times while reading all these statistics, benchmarks and performance reviews on all of the awesome GPU's out there. But I am merely mortal... and also an introductory gamer to the PC world.

So, strait to the point:

All of my research into the subject of which GPU to pick is twisting my brain. It is pretty obvious that you do not need a $500 card to run todays heavier graphic games on ultra with good FPS. The more i read about these things though the more money i feel like i should spend on one. How do i be realistic about this purchase. Are these crazy high price tags too much GPU for an average gamer that wants to experience full graphics with good FPS on games like crysis 2, metro and BF3?

If i am running a 2 monitor setup using only 1 monitor for the game, (1600x900 resolution now, but i would like to upgrade to a full 1080 in a few months) an i5 ivy bridge 3570k processor, z77 mobo, 8 GB kingston HyperX and a 650W PSU. Do you really need a 600 series nvidia, or a 79xx radeon? SLI?

Ive been looking at the GTX 570 and or the Radeon 7870 / 7850 but i cannot decide whether or not these are too much or to little GPU for my function? Perhaps there are simply just better options that i don't see.

where do you draw the line between functionality and bragging rights with a mid range gaming setup.

Of course we will say this is dependent on personal preference, budget and future gaming. I cannot state preference, my budget is not the issue for this topic and yes i would like a card that i dont have to replace in 6 months because its inadequate.

(purchase will be made early september 2012)

More about : gpu mid high range gaming

Register or log in to remove

The 570 is a great gpu but if you are looking for top graphics in every game with good fps. I would suggest getting the GTX 670. Its almost as powerful as a 680 but is $100 less. I have a 680 and it handles every game without any problems on a 27" 1080p monitor. I would expect the 670 to do nearly the same. By then the 660 ti should be out too. I would expect that to be about $250-$300
Graphics card Master

To make full use of your graphics card, you must consider how much you play games. It seems like you like FPS. So you may want a capable graphics card. 670 or any 7850 and above
Related ressources
Ask the community

fantastik250 said:
To make full use of your graphics card, you must consider how much you play games. It seems like you like FPS. So you may want a capable graphics card. 670 or any 7850 and above


I do a significant amout of gaming on my i3 with my 550ti, but it is limited.
Graphics card Master

the new 600/7000 cards out right now are like the intel sb/ib chips that are out now. both of them are almost the same speed wise. the main diff is the ib run cooler and use less power then there older brother the sb chips. the 570/560 gpu need a larger power supply to run them then the same 670 card. ati is working on there 8000 line of gpu. when i look at gpu you have to look at price and there min and max fps in demo games. what you look for is a card with a min of 30 frames at your 1080 rez. the problem with demos is that with online muilt games with a lot of bad guys and players...you can lag out if you buy a card like the 550ti a card that can at low res be a great card but to hit it price point nvidia and ati cripple there lower end cards.

refillable said:
Either 670 or 7870 will be good. No it is not too much.



3rd person in a row to suggest 670.. that is 1.75 times the cost of the processor.. It just seems excessive.
Graphics card Expert

I game on a 20 inch, 1600 X 900 resolution monitor, with an MSI GTX 560Ti 448 core graphics card. I have no trouble playing Batman Arkham City, and BF3 at ultra settings, although In BF3 multiplayer I do use a combo of high/ultra (mostly ultra) settings as this is sometimes a bit of stuttering. Those seem to be a couple of the more demanding titles out there right now. Since my card is almost a 570, I would think a GTX570 would do it for you at that resolution.
Newegg has an EVGA GTX570 on sale right now for $270 before rebate, $260 after, which is a pretty good price on that card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Graphics card Master

iocaine1 said:
3rd person in a row to suggest 670.. that is 1.75 times the cost of the processor.. It just seems excessive.


For gaming, a balanced rig is a less expensive CPU + more expensive GPU -- it's actually not a good idea for a gaming rig to spend the same amount of money on your CPU and your GPU, unless you happen to be gaming at low resolution (below 1600x900). At 1080p and up, a $300 CPU can actually power a GPU solution vastly more expensive - for example, my $300 i7-2600k effectively powers 3 times its cost in graphics muscle.

More expensive CPUs like the Sandy Bridge-E processors just don't have any benefit for games. However, a $300 CPU has a ton of headroom to power more expensive graphics.

IMO if you are gonna spend $300 on a CPU, and you are serious about playing games, it makes sense to spend $400 and get a GTX 670. That said, a 7870 would do fine in pretty much everything as well, especially if you overclock it. I do not recommend the GTX 570 unless you can find one for $275 or less; it's not that great a deal at the $300+ price point with the 7870 sitting right there.

Well, like i said above, my budget isnt necessarily the issue here. If someone can convince me that i truly need a $400 - $500 graphics card then thats what ill get. Its just confusing why so many people advocate top of the line GPU's when all the reviews i read seem to say that a single $350 dollar card can handle todays games on ultra/1080 without any problems. Why spend an extra 100 - 150 if its just overkill.. thats all im trying to figure out..

I truly appreciate all the responses, but its still fairly vague as to why i should go so high end.

iocaine1 said:
Well, like i said above, my budget isnt necessarily the issue here. If someone can convince me that i truly need a $400 - $500 graphics card then thats what ill get. Its just confusing why so many people advocate top of the line GPU's when all the reviews i read seem to say that a single $350 dollar card can handle todays games on ultra/1080 without any problems. Why spend an extra 100 - 150 if its just overkill.. thats all im trying to figure out..

I truly appreciate all the responses, but its still fairly vague as to why i should go so high end.


go high end because you dont want to buy a mediocre mid range 250-300ish graphics card and have to upgrade for another 250-300 in two years when the card is slowing down. a GTX 670 is not overkill and i wouldn't even call two 670's overkill, games are needing more power now days and they are constantly changing the way engines work, the gpu is the gaming horsepower so i would definatly choose wisely, as you don't want to settle for something and be disappointed, because you have just dropped money into a graphics card that you will want to get rid of.

Iocaine1, one thing to consider is that most benchmarks you will see on tech sites are average FPS. Minimum FPS usually happens when the action is the most intense and when you definitely don't want slow down to the point where you can't play properly or at best you will be distracted by the framerate drop. It's been my experience that it's best to get a little faster card than you need based on the average FPS benchmarks.

I also recommend the GTX 670 since you want to play on full (ultra) settings.
Graphics card Authority

iocaine1 said:
Well, like i said above, my budget isnt necessarily the issue here. If someone can convince me that i truly need a $400 - $500 graphics card then thats what ill get. Its just confusing why so many people advocate top of the line GPU's when all the reviews i read seem to say that a single $350 dollar card can handle todays games on ultra/1080 without any problems. Why spend an extra 100 - 150 if its just overkill.. thats all im trying to figure out..

I truly appreciate all the responses, but its still fairly vague as to why i should go so high end.



Have a look at the 1920x1080 results.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-680-rev...

A game like bf3 is pretty hardcore as far as needing graphic power compared to some other games. The gtx 580 gets 55 FPS in ultra settings which still does not keep up with the refresh rate of the monitor. Sure 55 FPS looks great and your eye really can't tell the difference between 55 and 60 but that card does not max bf3 at 1080. Also, the benchmark was done on a single player campaign. As soon as you hit a 64 player mulitplayer game your FPS will go down and even the gtx 580 is going to start falling behind. If you want to max the latest games at 1080 and maintain an average FPS of at least the refresh rate of most monitors which is 60 Hz then you are looking at a 680 a 670 or a 7970 or 7950. Any less and you have to start comprimising graphic settings with resolution and FPS. If it was simply for bragging, I would not have spent over $1100 on two 7970's.

Several things I would like to point out, that other seem to be missing.

You put your time-of-purchase in September.

You should know that the lineup and prices can and will look very different 3 months from know. Most of these cards being suggested will drop ~$100 by then (banking on supply levels ramping up) so it's hard to may a call way back here in May.

Like cyanshow above me, we recommend that you buy above what you need right now, so that hopefully your card can pull it's weight next year and even the year after.
Graphics card Master

High end cards are not going to drop $100 by September. The only thing that might happen is 7870 price dropping to $300 when the 660ti comes out, but that sounds like October or later currently.

@OP - you need more graphics muscle than a GTX 570 or HD 7870 (not OCd) to play games like BF3 multiplayer maxed out 1080p smoothly.
Register or log in to remove
 
Ask the community
Read discussions in other Graphics & Displays categories